A classroom teacher’s view on homework

Homework can be a dissentious topic in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can value this instructors point of view. How do you interact with families about homework?

When considering research, teachers discover it advantageous to interact their policy with the families of their trainees. After recently completing a Learners Edge course, Jennifer Lindsey, a fourth grade instructor from Pennsylvania, reflected on her homework approach which consists of the purposeful roles instructors and households play.

LE: What is your position on the issue of homework?
When I answer this question, I address as a teacher and as the moms and dad of school age children. I do see homework as having a role in the educational procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see post), who appears to think research is worthless, or worse, has a negative impact. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research that shows research to be beneficial, I did not see a convincing amount of difficult information to support getting rid of all research.
Yes, the amount of homework need to be based on the students age and grade level. As many Kindergarten-3rd grade instructors are self-contained, it must be reasonably easy to offer mathematics research one night, spelling or reading one night, and so on to avoid overwhelming 5 to 8-year-olds. If teachers are imaginative with assignments and in communicating the purpose of the assignment, trainees must not become bored or annoyed. Those are my objectives as a fourth-grade instructor. I see research to extend knowing. Would I appoint 30 math issues to students who I know would battle with them, or to students who have shown their understanding of the skill? No, in those cases, it is my task as the instructor to customize the tasks.
Our book mentions it can take 24 repetitions of an ability for a student to reach 80% proficiency. I think practicing abilities is worthwhile. Kohns comparison with tennis does not make good sense to me. There are skills in tennis you need to practice to enhance. There are fundamental math skills children need to practice to develop a solid foundation prior to moving on to higher-level mathematics abilities. Kohn mentions how students may progress at keeping in mind, but not believing. I see this as 2 different things; we require trainees to bear in mind particular truths and after that move on to utilizing those skills as thinkers and issue solvers.
As a moms and dad, it can be tough to squeeze in research some nights! We do the finest we can, and if we have problems or concerns, I reach out to the instructor. Again, excellent teachers make it a point to understand what some house scenarios might be like and to modify appropriately.

I do see homework as having a function in the instructional procedure and I do not agree with Alfie Kohn (see short article), who appears to believe homework is useless, or worse, has a negative effect. While Kohn asserts there is almost no research study that shows research to be beneficial, I did not see a persuading amount of hard data to support doing away with all research.
Yes, the amount of homework need to be based on the trainees age and grade level. As a lot of Kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are self-contained, it must be fairly simple to provide mathematics homework one night, spelling or checking out one night, etc to avoid straining 5 to 8-year-olds. Research can be a divisive subject in the education neighborhood, and we hope you can value this teachers point of view.

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